The Vorta
by eielsondm
Summary: This is my first attempt at fanfic, so I welcome criticism, just try to be kind.  I have researched the timeline for the Trek novels and have tried to keep in step with them, so my stories could easily fit into the Voyager book series.  Reviews welcome.
1. Chapter 1  The Cold of Space

**The Vorta: A Star Trek Fan fiction**

**By Jason S Freeman**

**Chapter I - Cold of Space**

John Dougherty knew it was his imagination. It was a climate controlled space suit but he could swear he felt a chill on his neck. He wasn't scared. This was by no means his first time walking around in the vacuum of space. Nor was it his first time in a cavern on some asteroid in the back waters of space. He just had a feeling about this one.

The Argolis Cluster was the hiding place of a Dominion sensor array that provided a critical tactical advantage over the Federation Starfleet during the devastating Dominion war. The massive Dominion array was destroyed by the Federation starship Defiant nearly six years ago. The Federation had most of the wreckage from the array cleaned up by legitimate salvage crews, but there were still a few hidden caches of salvage from the Jem'Hadar escort ships that protected the array.

Salvage was an easy job at times but this wasn't one of them. His muscles still ached from the weeks of tense work he'd spent in this asteroid belt sweeping for cloaked mines. There were still mines left over from the Dominion war all over this sector. They'd found dozens. It was dangerous work but it paid well. Starfleet just didn't have the man power to send people out to the cluster, so here he was.

Even finding out about this attack ship hull was an act of clandestine provenance. When they made their last stop at Starbase 211, John had met with a Ferengi contact that sold him the sensor data from a ship that had passed close by the asteroid belt. Hull fragments had been littered on several of the other asteroids nearby, but not enough to account for a crashed Jem'Hadar battle cruiser. The sensor data had cost him a small fortune, but the pay off was more than promising. The captain believed the sensor array and some of the weaponry might still be intact. This could mean a huge payday.

"Dougherty, over here" the voice of Maag – Toft echoed in his helmet. The huge, gold skinned Brecon was standing near the edge of a cliff that "fell" into a deep chasm. "I think the damned thing slid all the way in here." Maag flexed his muscles and twisted his frame that barely fit into his space suit. It was clear by the sound of his voice that he also wanted this business to be over with soon. One set of his massive arms clenched the disrupter rifle while the others held a beacon and a tricorder.

"There are still trace amounts of plasma and photon discharge on the edges of the drop. We may need the grav sled down here. Scans show it should be safe enough to use our thruster packs to go down there." Maag -Toft's voice was confident, but his posture suggested he'd prefer to wait until the others caught up. If there had been any other magnetic mines pulled in when the Jem'Hadar ship crashed, they could still be active. It would be much better to have the science team down here.

"Dougherty to Telk, we've found the trail. We need Akkori's team down here."

A sarcastic, bemused voice came back to them on the open channel, "Transporters won't reach that far, we'll need you to set up the signal boosters. The team will be down as soon as we get a lock."

"I understand." Dougherty looked at Maag-Toft and nodded. The pair began setting up the enhancers in a diamond pattern. The tripod legs had some trouble staying strait on the rocky cavern floor, but soon the control panels at the top of each cylindrical device was activated. A beam of light that connected each of them created the outline of the transport area. In seconds the air shimmered with the coalescing energy patterns of millions of cells becoming solid and taking shape into three fellow crew members.

The new comers were similarly equipped with space suits and equipment belts. Akkori Rahn was in front. The internal lights lit her face and allowed anyone to see her soft, heart shaped face; and her large burnished gold eyes. The rest of her slight form was covered by the bulky suit. John believed there was no more beautiful face in the quadrant. He looked away to keep his mind on the job. Any distractions could cost them all their lives.

Akkori's hands swept over the tricorder panel and she grunted with frustration. "These damned gloves are slowing me down. Computer...access controls of the tricorder in my hand and begin holo display and voice activation protocol." Her soft, musical voice flitted through the speakers of John's helmet.

"Accessing..." came the voice of her in suit computer.

She looked up at Dougherty and smiled. "A few more minutes John." Her smile was just for him. It came to him and began a warm sensation that spread up and down his spine. It was infectious, his smile rose to meet hers.

Again he forced himself to look away. He occupied himself by recalibrating his own tricorder for the tenth time this morning. One of these days, when they had a few days of leave, he was going to ask her out.

"Here we go, all ready John." The Brecon's voice snapped him back to reality. Maag-Toft, Manfredi, and Johnson (The other two human crew mates on board) had assembled the anti-gravity sled and were ready to descend the cliff face.

The drop was nearly one quarter kilometer down, but there was no gravity to aid in their decent. The space suits were equipped with limited thrusters, and they could reach the bottom, the sled was for the treasure they found.

As they began to descend, all members of the crew kept continual scans of the cavern, emitting tachyon pulses and searching for any trace of displaced E.M. fields. There was no sure way of knowing if there were additional mines in this cavern. Soon the torn hull of the Jem'Hadar ship could be seen.

The nacelles and secondary hull of the attack ship had been destroyed by the mine. Starfleet weapons had already destroyed thruster capability, and the primary hull spun to its ultimate demise in the heart of this asteroid. Only a small piece of the hull could be seen. There was no sign of residual power. Any normal ingress would be impossible.

Maag-Toft removed the heavy barrel of his phased polaron beam cutting devise and powered it up. None of the crew knew if the cutter would even work on the Jem'Hadar hull plating. The beams sent a shower of light every where. Sparks and bits of oxidized carbon showered the stones of the cavern. Plates of the ablative armor began to heat up, but the held fast. Clouds of ionized carbon wafted past the salvage crew.

"No sign of getting through. Should we try our phasers?" Maag-Toft asked in a frustrated tone.

Dougherty thought it over for a few minutes and took another look at his tricorder. He knew that a higher setting had a better chance, but the shrapnel could trigger a hidden mine.

As if she knew what he was thinking, Akkori laid her gloved hand on his arm. "We've found no trace of a mine. I believe it's safe."

Her eyes were locked with his. He couldn't doubt her. She believed, and so should he. "Increase power to level five."

With only a small look of hesitation, Maag-Toft did as ordered. A huge blast of red-orange light pulsed from the cutting tool and struck the hull. He had to steady himself, so the force of the sustained pulse didn't send him flying back through the cavern. White hot plates of armor released from the hull and melted into slag. Soon a small opening could be seen. A few moments later, a man-sized hole gaped in the side of the ship. The cold of space helped to cool the edges immediately after the beam had dispersed

Dougherty entered first, phaser rifle ready. The interior of the hull was in disarray and many panels looked to be burned out. He rightly guessed he was near the weapons control ports and crew quarters. He slowly climbed back out and nodded to Akkori.

Akkori opened the large case on the sled and removed a remote droid. "Computer...activate com link with remote droid and begin system check.' The computer beeped in recognition and began its work. The holo display on the rim of her helmet began to show system settings and readings. The many colors flashed off of her skin. Satisfied that the droid would work, she let it go and set it adrift in the direction of the ship.

"Activate remote droid." Her command was followed instantly by a whirling sound and the black, gourd-sized sphere came to life. It opened in the front to allow a sensor panel to protrude, and a light beamed forward. The droid moved into the hull and began a full sensor sweep. Guided by repulsor controls in Akkori's helmet, the droid was soon out of sight of the crew.

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	2. Chapter 2  Another Day, Another Dollar

**The Vorta: A Star Trek Fan fiction**

**By Jason S Freeman**

Chapter Two – Another Day, another Dollar

Telk leaned back in his chair and ran a hand across the bilateral ridge running down his hairless, blue head. Stretching his legs out, he lifted one foot onto the sensor and communications console, spreading his blue toes. Leaning forward, he picked a small piece of lint from between the middle two. This was the life. While everyone else was down on the asteroid, he could just relax at his console and let the auto pilot keep the Tellerite freighter that was his home in orbit.

A soft rhythmic strumming of an electric instrument followed by the high piping of a woodwind filled the air of the otherwise empty bridge. "This is much better than the captain's thumping noise that gave the rest of us headaches," Telk thought to himself.

Akkori and the others had transported down to help the captain, and Maag-Toft was already at Dougherty's side to do the heavy lifting. If he played his cards right, he wouldn't have to do any real work for another day or two.

The captain had left orders to do a radio check every half an hour. The last communication had been only fifteen minutes ago. They hadn't even had time to get through the first bulkhead of the Jem'Hadar ship in the crater. Toft-Maag, the twin to the large four armed Brecon on the surface, was too busy with getting the replicator back on line to worry about the bridge. Telk's smile widened.

He took a long drink of his raktajino and placed the travel mug on the edge of the console. Reaching down, he lifted the small sealed bag from the floor and removed a jelly doughnut. Not the replicated type but a real doughnut. He had bought a small stash of them and froze them in the small refrigeration unit he had in his quarters. They were safely hidden in there. To his knowledge, the others didn't even know he had them.

He took a big bite and found himself in near ecstasy. His second, larger bite was even better. It was so good, he nearly didn't see the small bit of filling that fell from the pastry and plopped onto the glassy surface of his interface console. "Damn!" He turned his head back and fourth, finally shrugging and using the un-tucked tail of his shirt to wipe the mess away.

Suddenly a warning light began to blink on his console. "What the…" He sat up so quickly that he knocked over his drink. Telk ignored the travel mug and called up the information being reported by the passive high-energy charged particle detectors. An active polaron scan was being used by an unidentified ship approximately 20 _AU_ from the asteroid's location. The ship was running without broadcasting a transponder or registration code. There was no way to know who they were or who they worked for.

The asteroid field in this system was nice sized, but it would only be a matter of hours before they were detected. The raider probably had relatively weak shields, but at least six Type V phasers. Telk couldn't be sure because he was only using passive scans. If the raider was anything like the other unregistered ship they had seen out here in the Argolis Cluster, they would out match the Baxley easily.

Another thought crossed Telk's mind and made his stomach get queasy. There are no inhabited worlds in this system. There are no obvious signs of current mining operations in this system either. Why would these raiders pick this system to randomly search for other ships? Someone tipped the raiders off and told them the Baxley was there.

"Away team, this is The Baxley, come in."

"Yeah Telk, it's not time to check in yet. Is that Bolian music I hear? Are you throwing a party on my ship? If I find a single drop of raktajino on my bridge's carpet…" Dougherty sounded a little on edge.

"No, listen. Sensors are showing an unregistered vessel entering the system. They have weapons hot and are searching the system with a Class IV sensor sweep. I think they're raiders. We'll be spotted within six hours." Telk risked a quick glance at the travel mug on the floor.

"That's not enough time. The section of hull that survived the crash down here is larger than we thought. You're going to have to land the ship on the asteroid and cut main power. That should keep you off their scanners for a while. Keep passive scanners on and watch them like a hawk. We have just entered the main corridor of the derelict. We'll make a quick sweep and get back to you ASAP."

Telk cursed silently to himself. He didn't mind being a co-pilot but he didn't enjoy being the only pilot on the bridge when things got tense. He was much more comfortable sitting at the Opps console. "Will do Captain, Baxley out." He stood quickly and rolled his shoulders. He bent over and grabbed the mug, silently praying to any higher power that might be listening that there wasn't a stain on the carpet. Stretching his neck, he sat in the pilot's seat. Chuckling to himself he said aloud, "In other news today, a Bolian crashed his captain's ship into the surface of an asteroid and died of embarrassment."

"Computer, disengage auto pilot and return control to the manual piloting station." He paused listening for the tale-tell signal of the computer chirping and then added to the air, "Toft-Maag, we have to land…now! Hold on to something; or better yet, get your four armed butt up here. There could be trouble."

Toft-Maag's head dipped to his chest when the message came through the ship-wide intercom. He had spent more than ten hours redirecting a power transfer conduit from the linear-radial warp engine that ran along the spine of the old Tellerite freighter to the starboard cargo pod in section one. The increased power was necessary to test any weapons systems they find or to increase power to the environmental controls in that cargo pod. Dougherty wanted to be able to erect an annular forcefield to maintain atmospheric pressure if the cargo pod needed to be opened in the vacuum of space.

Then when the crew left to salvage what they can from the Jem'Hadar ship, he had been asked to fix a problem with the replicator; having the advantage of an 'extra set of hands' had its advantage but he was still only one individual. He was not the miracle worker they apparently believed him to be.

With a final twist of his micro-hyperspanner, he finished the adjustment to the molecular pattern matrix controls. Any replicated dish my picky brother or the captain tried to call up would be within a few single-bit errors in the molecular structure of the food stuff. If they claimed they could taste the difference in that, he may just have to reset the harmonic frequency of their sonic showers.

With all four hands, he quickly gathered an assortment of tools that had been strewn about the floor and placed them into his tool kit. The process took less than twenty seconds, but Toft-Maag still heard Telk's voice over the intercom. "Toft, are you there?"

"Calm yourself, Telk. I will join you in a few seconds. I cannot leave my tools lying willy-nilly about the place. What kind of trouble are we in now?" He looked at the ceiling hoping an answer would appear there. He wished silently for a pleasure boat or a subspace invitation to Risa."

"We've got raiders, and I think they know we are in the field somewhere."

Toft-Maag's jaw clenched. He had warned the Captain that he didn't like the way the Ferengi that told them about this cache didn't try to bilk them on the price. When John made up his mind about something, it took the rearranging of the stars to change his mind. Since John had already decided to trust the big eared sleaze ball, there was no turning back. So here we are, and imagine that, they'd been found

At least it wasn't a Starfleet vessel, Toft-Maag thought to himself. The raider we could fight or run from, but a Starfleet vessel would have caught them or out fought them. The Federation frowns upon illegal salvage operations.

He climbed the ladder that led from deck two to deck one and moved forward to the bridge. When the doors opened, he instinctively knew that Telk had been up to no good while the Captain was away. "You had better hope the Captain doesn't see that stain on the floor." He jibbed at his blue skinned friend. "Computer, reroute all engineering command functions to this console, reconfigure for biometric file Toft-sigma- two." The display went dark for a split second and then lit again set up for Toft-Maag's preferences and body style. "Is this jelly on the console?"

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	3. Chapter 3 The Stasis Pod

**The Vorta: A Star Trek Fan fiction**

**By Jason S Freeman**

Chapter Three – The Stasis Pod

The heads up display on the inside of each crew member's helmet showed data from Akkori's remote droid. They appeared as light blue holograms in the lower peripheral vision of the wearer. It also made navigation of the dark corridors in the downed battle cruiser easier. Objects detected by the droid's sensors overlaid the field of vision for the crew, highlighting hard to see obstacles. Temperature, anomalous energy fields and particles, and even residual weapons signatures or bio matter all registered and was presented in the HUD. The crew relaxed a bit and put away their tricorders, freeing one hand each.

Akkori's sensor sweeps found no trace of the stealth fields that hid the mines. There were bodies left in the main corridor because this section of the hull had been exposed to space, preserving the bodies in the cold vacuum.

Maag-Toft found a weapons locker and began loading the personal arms of Jem'Hadar soldiers onto the anti-grav sled. Most of the crew had never seen a Jem'Hadar weapon up close. He smiled while he worked, obviously at ease with advanced firearms. .

Akkori looked over at John and for a second believed that he had been looking at her, but looked away when she caught his eye. He was still young for a Captain with only being in his late twenties. His short, slightly mussed, dark brown hair gave him an even younger appearance. He was trim and athletically built with strong arms and flat stomach. His muscled jaw line and slightly protruding jaw line gave him a slightly brooding look when he wasn't smiling. It was a shame she couldn't see his posterior in his bulky e-suit.

She looked back at her HUD just in time to catch a spike in the EM field. Akkori toggled the control on her wrist interface and moved the droid back in the direction of the spike. "John, I think we have something." She could plainly see an active power source somewhere behind the next bulkhead. (Used 'she' a little too much; insert her name on the highlighted 'she' and it would sound better)

John pulled his personal tricorder to confirm her readings. "Maag-Toft, we need to get into the chamber behind the next door. Try and see if you can force it open manually."

Maag-Toft walked over to the sealed door and removed two round magnetic devices from the equipment pouch built in to his space suit. The devices had flat metal discs that worked as magnetic surfaces, with strong hand grips built into the opposite side. Locking the magnetic discs onto the door, he took a grip into each of his left hands and braced his right against the door jam. Planting his right foot, he heaved against the metal, pulling the handles in the opposite direction. The door groaned and shifted ever so slightly, but did not slide in its track.

Maag-Toft snorted and shook his head and then violently redoubled his efforts to open the door by brute strength. The door again made a stressful noise and shifted but made no further progress.

This time when he stopped, he growled in a low voice and kicked the door hard with his plated boot. The noise echoed in the derelict hull and vibrated down the corridor.

John smirked and tried to stifle the amused noise that would surely carry over the open comm. channel maintained by his suits helmet. He knew his large friend had a temper and it wouldn't due to antagonize him at times like this.

"Let's try brains over brawn." John risked a joke at his friend's expense and chucked his shoulder with his forearm. "Can we cut through the locking mechanism?" He watched as Maag-Toft shook his head. There was no doubt the Brecon would 'get an earful' about this from his brother when they get back to the ship. John chuckled silently. He was proud of the small crew he had managed to put together with such a small budget.

Akkori moved forward smiling. "Maybe the hardware is still intact. I can use a portable power node to get it open." Taking a four inch thick cylinder from her equipment pouch, she moved over to the bottom right of the door and opened an access panel. Pushing aside a thick braid of wires, she examined the leads on the door's control mechanism. Akkori turned the top of the power node and pressed the button located on the top of the device. Then the she placed the node over the power converter. The portable node locked into place magnetically and emitted an indicator signal. The beeping told Akkori the node had completed the circuit. The beautiful Cygnan smiled and stood. She looked back to make sure everyone was ready.

Maag-Toft raised his compression phase riffle and squared his stance, ready for the unknown behind the door. John put his tricorder away and removed the phaser from his equipment belt. Manfredi and Johnson also produced phasers and readied themselves.

"Here goes nothing." Akkori pressed a button on the control pad and the door slid open with the groan of fatigued metal. The darkness beyond was sliced apart by the wrist beams Akkori and John wore. Maag-Toft and the others had helmet mounted lights that pointed always into the direction they were looking.

The room beyond was some sort of medical or science bay, full of odd devices and computer equipment. Against the far wall was a bank of tall, transparent stasis chambers. Of the five of them, one was undamaged and occupied. Condensation had obscured the view of its contents, but a feminine form could be made out against the dim internal lighting.

In the center of the room was an examination table with a full compliment of gear and components expected of a modern bio-bed in a Starfleet med bay. The design of all the equipment had an unfamiliar quality and John was unsure of the exact nature of each piece.

It was the stasis chamber that held his attention and drew him nearer. He quickly put away his phaser and again opened his tricorder, attempting to get as much detail as he could on the occupant of the device. The information the instrument displayed so shocked him that he scarcely believed it.

Akkori joined him and gave a surprised grunt. "That isn't what I thought we'd find." John had to agree with her. Right in front of them was a still inactive Vorta clone in a maturation chamber. The life support unit built in to the removable chamber was still active, powered by a built in fusion battery.

John slowly reached forward and whipped the frosted condensation away from the glass to see with his own eyes what was inside. There she was; a fully grown Vorta female.

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	4. Chapter 4 Emergency Landing

**The Vorta: A Star Trek Fan fiction**

**By Jason S Freeman**

Chapter Four

A gruff, computer simulated, male voice called out across the bridge, "Two hundred meters to landing surface. It is recommended that you slow to thirty kph."

"I know that, you damned tin can!" Telk looked over at Toft-Maag. "This is worse than when my mother tried to teach me to pilot a shuttle. Can't you tell that stupid program to only bug me when it is important?"

"One hundred and fifty meters to landing surface; you are exceeding safety limits, please decrease acceleration to thirty kph." The computer insisted.

Toft-Maag shot Telk a warning look. "Maybe if you actually slowed down instead of complaining, the computer would shut up!"

"In case you haven't noticed, we are in a bit of a hurry! I need to get us to the surface and shut down main power before we are detected."

"Fifty meters to Landing surface. You must reduce speed immediately," again the computer warned the crew.

The ship jerked and Toft-Maag's stomach seemed to rise into his throat. The internal dampeners were unable to compensate for Telk's sudden use of the descending thrusters. When the world seemed to stop its sudden inclining motion, Toft-Maag felt the gentle vibration of the landing struts touching the surface of the asteroid.

"There! Computer, cut power to all non essential systems. Run passive scans and switch to short wave, coded communications channels only." Telk leaped out of his seat and moved toward the security console on the rear port side of the bridge. "I'm activating a dampening field to hide our heat signature from active scans. We should only need it for a few moments. The cold of space should cool us off quickly enough." After finishing the command sequence for the dampening field, Telk moved back toward Toft-Maag and the Opps console.

"Are we picking up anything on the raider's vessel?" Telk leaned over Toft-Maag's shoulder to see the display.

"No. We won't until they are within eight million kilometers. It should be a while, another two or three hours unless they picked up the heat from your thruster blast." He shrugged his shoulders and arms, forcing Telk back and out of his way.

"That is why I waited so long to use them. The asteroid should have taken the brunt of the heat and it will cool even faster than the ship. I'd bet a week's pay they didn't see a thing."

Toft-Maag shook his head. "You may be right. I guess we will just have to wait and see."

"You want to what?" Akkori's voice rose slightly coming across the com a little louder than she had intended, causing her crewmates to wince. The Captain couldn't possibly mean to do what she had just heard him say.

"Yes, we're taking her on board. We leave her in the stasis pod and take the whole damned thing. The fusion battery is compatible with our power supply, so it can be hooked up in cargo pod one. We don't have time to strip any of the weapons arrays from this wreck with the raider out there. This may be the only thing of high value that can be taken quickly."

Akkori stared in disbelief. He was right about the raider vessel. If they found the Baxley, we would have to make a run for it; but why take the Vorta? "Sir, we should record the coordinates for this site and get out of here. We have enough to cover our expenses, maybe even a little extra left over. Taking her could get us in a lot of trouble." Akkori tried to keep John's eye contact, but he was searching the faces of the others as well as hers. "We can give the coordinates to Starfleet and leave this mess behind us."

John looked back at her. "How do you expect us to do that? We don't have a license to do salvage operations in the cluster. Even if I had applied for one, they would never give that kind of support to the son of a traitor."

Akkori could see the hurt in his eyes when he made the comment. His father had died four years ago and John had never gotten the chance to mend the relationship. His father had never forgiven John for leaving Starfleet after the Dominion war. He had claimed that Starfleet had never needed experienced officers more than after the war but John simply had lost his taste for Starfleet. For him there was no going back. Akkori understood how John felt. She and Telk had left Starfleet as well and followed John into this life.

Now, it was too late for John to make his father understand. There would be no reunion or even an understanding. John's father, Admiral Matthew Dougherty had died a traitor, siding with the alien Son'a and allowing the enemy to fire on the USS Enterprise.

"If we tell them where this hull is, they will arrest us just for being out here. I'll loose my ship. I won't let that happen."

"John, please. We can make an anonymous report…" Akkori was cut off.

"We can't leave her here. The power reserves in the fusion battery are low. It may shut down before the next ship finds her. I'm not leaving her here." And that was it. No amount of arguing would get through to him. They were taking the Vorta onboard.

Within an hour, the small crew had disconnected the Vorta's tank and connected it to the anti-grav sled. A number of pieces of smaller equipment were placed in the containers on the underside, or carried by the crew. With little difficulty, they found themselves at the foot of the cliff. Akkori used the power cell of her phaser to boost the anti gravity field, and the sled took them all into the air.

In the micro gravity of the asteroid, all five of them were able to hold on the rails of the sled and be pulled along with the cargo up the cliff. It took only minutes and they could see the Baxley. The cargo ramp for cargo pod one was lowered and there were emergency batteries running the lights. Quickly they were in the pod and hooking up the chamber to internal power.

"I need to get to the bridge. Finish getting this stuff stowed away in the lower compartment then meet me there." His eyes met Akkori's and for a moment there was an unasked question between them. Of Course, he already knew the answer. She didn't agree with his decision, but Akkori would carry out his wishes. All of the equipment and weapons would be placed in containers and put in the hidden compartment underneath the floors of cargo pod one. The Vorta would be safely fixed to the wall and power would be supplied to her life support system. No one would question him any further. There would be no hard feelings. In a way, this crew had become his surrogate family.

"Aye sir, we'll be there in a few moments." Akkori gave him a reassuring smile. She knew that he would fly his ship through the gates of hell if she needed him to, in that way he had earned her loyalty.

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	5. Chapter 5 Red Alert

**The Vorta: A Star Trek Fan fiction**

**By Jason S Freeman**

Chapter Five – Red Alert

"What's our status?" John walked onto the bridge to see Toft-Maag and Telk huddled around the situation table that crowded the back of the bridge. They had activated the holographic imager and were playing a virtual game of chess. A pair of travel mugs sat on the side of the table and brought a frown to Johns face. "Et tu Toft-Maag?" His eyes motioned toward the mugs.

"If you'd just allow me to install some cup holders, Captain…" Telk tried to make an excuse but the captain raised his hand to silence him.

"Not now, Telk. What is the situation with the raider vessel?"

"They have moved to a different section of the belt. They know we're here, but can't find us. As soon as we take off, they'll see us and come at us as quick as they can. They are faster than us, but with some creative piloting, we could get away. If they aren't too much faster than us, we might get away."

John nodded, thinking over his options. "Are there any outposts close enough to get help if they catch up? Somewhere patrolled?" He didn't relish the thought of looking for Starfleet help, but some of the member worlds still maintained independent patrol fleets that could force the raiders out. Most patrol ships won't have very sophisticated sensors. They might not be able to figure out what the Baxley was carrying.

"There is always Tagra IV. They have a small defense force, but they are also likely to have a Starfleet vessel in orbit." Toft-Maag called up the information on the situation table and a holographic image of the planet appeared in place of the interrupted chess game.

John thought back to the last time he read about Tagra IV. It was a Starfleet report concerning Q and a young woman named Amanda Rogers who removed contaminants in the atmosphere, restoring the natural ecosystem of Tagra IV, saving thousands of people with her inherited Q continuum powers. That had been eleven years ago. Since then, little had been heard about the Tagrans.

It was true that supply and trade vessels came and went from Tagra regularly. This meant that from time to time, Starfleet would show up to check up on the colony and their visitors. It was also true that no regular patrols existed in the Argolis cluster and the chance of happening upon a Starfleet vessel only increased due to Murphy's Law. He didn't want to run into one, and therefore it was nearly insured that he would. It also happened to be the only option he could think of.

"Toft-Maag, get us prepped. We don't want to alert them to our presence yet, but do what you can. Telk, start plotting me a course using all we've got. I want out of the belt and into Tagra space as quickly as possible."

A chorus of "Aye sir and a flurry of movement followed. Toft-Maag left the bridge with his mug in hand, while Telk forgot his and moved to the Opps station and began to use passive sensors and sensor logs to chart a course that could use natural objects, energy fields and gravitational forces to hide or speed up their journey. Even if he pushed their maximum speed of warp six, it would take the Baxley eleven hours to get to the Tagra system. Since most space battles lasted a number of seconds, Telk was positive it would be a long night.

The crew sat in their respective seats, nearly holding their breath. The captain had ordered the main power brought back on line. He had all thrusters on stand-by and had his course locked in. Now he waited to see which course the raider vessel would take. They were finished scanning the grid sector of the asteroid field they were in. If they turned toward the Baxley, it would be a running fight all of the way out of the belt and a mad dash for help. If they turned away, the Baxley would wait and try to ease out of the belt all together.

When the ship finally made its move, the Captain was again reminded of Murphy's Law. He was also reminded of Richard Feynman's multiple histories theory. If there was another universe out there where a doppelganger of his always had good luck as opposed to his personal brand of luck; John swore that one day he would find this doppelganger and punch him in the mouth.

"Hold on everyone!" John keyed the thrusters at maximum for two seconds and then initiated the sub-light engines. Everyone was thrown back as the antique inertial dampening system struggled to keep up with the unsafe shift in velocity.

Within seconds John was forced to make another turn that again stressed the inertial dampeners. The crew held onto their seats with white knuckles. He continued follow the course that Telk had plotted, aided by the ship's partial AI, warning him when a turn was coming up, or if there was debris that the sensors hadn't picked up while plotting this course.

"They've spotted us, sir. They are moving in a safe arc that will lead them out of the belt and on an intercept course. They don't want to play chicken with the asteroids." Telk sounded a little concerned. If the enemy vessel stayed outside the belt, they could just pick the Baxley out at any time once she left the field. "I recommend alternate course 2 mark one, sir.

John was already adjusting the heading, taking the ship deeper into the asteroid field to make it look as though they would try to hide from the raider. In seconds they had taken the bait. The raider turned and swiftly dove back into the flotsam and jetsam of the belt. John smiled.

"They are matching course and speed. They will have a firing solution on us within three minutes." Maag-Toft called out to the others in his all business, gravelly voice. "They have a full compliment of phaser arrays, and standard civilian shield strength. They out gun us two to one."

"Don't worry Maag. They won't take us out before you get a chance to fire." Once again, John was trying to use humor to diffuse a tense situation on the bridge; and once again, Maag-Toft simply grunted and continued to watch the tactical display on his console.

Moments hung like dark clouds over the heads of the crew. John continued to alter course back and fourth, giving the appearance of a rabbit looking for a hidey-hole. He tried to take a surreptitious route toward the spot where he could break free of the asteroid field, but would brake off and turn back so that the enemy vessel would gain confidence that their quarry was simply desperate and scared out of their minds.

As suddenly as this chase had started, it became deadly. The raider vessel opened fire, strafing the side of an asteroid and nearly catching cargo pod three in the blast. Most of the crew had seen John's piloting skills, but Maag-Toft had still found himself impressed by the way the human handled such a blocky craft with finesse. The Baxley dodged two more strafing attempts before the enemy vessel got a lock on her. When it hit, the ship rocked and slid off trajectory enough to scrape their shields on a large asteroid.

"Shields at eighty seven percent. I still don't have a firing solution on the raider." Maag-Toft sounded as though he were about to hang his head out a window and fire by eye sight.

"Yes!" Telk shouted suddenly and turned in his chair just as the captain made an unfortunate turn. He fell from his seat and hit the floor hard. "Damn!" He shouted again. Pushing himself up on his hands he looked over to Maag-Toft. "I just sent you coordinates. Fire at them, quickly!"

"Why, it's just a rock." The Brecon shook his head, not understanding.

"Just do it!" Telk urged. The tactical officer keyed the phasers and light struck out from the freighter, striking an asteroid between the Baxley and the raider. The asteroid had a small impact crater and where the beam struck it seemed to have no effect.

"What was the point of that?" Maag-Toft tried to ask, turning toward his downed crewmate. The question only partly made it out of his mouth. Warning lights and sensor arrays lit up on every console as the asteroid exploded into a great fireball.

The raider was caught in the shock wave of the explosion, forcing it off course and causing it to strike another asteroid. The ship took heavy damage to their shields, but only minor damage to the hull. It did succeed however, in slowing the enemy vessel down.

"How the hell did you do that?" Maag-Toft was not one that enjoyed surprises, even if they benefited him.

"My sensors showed that there was a heavy kemosite core to the asteroid. I knew out phasers could crack its mantle and ignite the unstable mineral inside. Those raiders never saw it coming. They just thought you were a lousy shot!" Telk beamed as he climbed back into his seat, the embarrassment of his fall completely forgotten.

Within seconds, the raider was back into position and fired again. The ship shuttered under the barrage. Sparks flew from one of the overhead compartments containing electronics.

"Shields at sixty percent. We have minor damage to our secondary command processor." Maag-Toft didn't sound too very concerned at the moment.

The third barrage shook the ship much harder. Primary lighting went out and for a second the bridge was only lit by the consoles at each station and the situation table in the back. Then with a flicker, the emergency lighting came on and bathed the bridge in red light.

"Direct Hit! Shields down to forty percent! We've lost the backup generator and our keel phaser array. We took heavy damage to cargo pod three." Now he seemed worried.

Telk saw another problem and wasn't sure if he should say anything. He heard the captain over the comms and understood this was a touchy subject. Power to cargo pod one had been lost. The Stasis Chamber was no longer getting a feed from the ship. The pod had shifted on its docking ring and there may be more damage inside. "Sir. We have a problem with cargo pod one." He hesitated.

"Is it still attached to the ship and in one piece?" John could not afford to worry about their sleeping passenger at the moment. This wild chase through the asteroids was too deadly to allow himself any distractions.

"Yes sir."

"Well then, it will have to wait."

"Aye sir."

"Maag-Toft, we need a firing solution now." As the captain spoke, Maag-Toft scored another hit on the enemy vessel.

"Enemy shields down to fifty five percent. I agree sir, we need to get the hell out of here ASAP." He stared at his tactical display, searching for any answer. All at once, he smiled and his lower set of hands began to dance across the control panel, reconfiguring one of the instrument panels into an active control. "Sir, take us out of here. I have an idea."

John took his tactical officer at his word. The ship altered course yet again, dodging another barrage of phaser fire from the raider. He could see an opening in the asteroid field and knew if he took his ship there and his officer was wrong, they would be caught or destroyed. John blinked twice and made up his mind. He trusted Maag-Toft. The ship darted for the opening, bringing her close to the gravity well of a large planetoid. He used the gravity and allowed it to pull the ship into an arch around the asteroid. The centrifugal force of the gravitational pull increased the ship's speed beyond the engine's capacity to push. Before the ship could pass the optimal breaking point of the gravity well, John used maximum thrusters to push away from the planet. The ship was free and traveling at a rate it simply could not do on its own.

The enemy ship entered the gravity well in the same manner as the Baxley, but Maag-Toft was waiting for them. He activated the tractor beam and grabbed a smaller asteroid from the belt, yanking it out of its normal orbiting path. Just as suddenly, he powered down the beam, sending it into the path of the raider vessel now firmly in a slingshot maneuver. Their pilot attempted to get out of the way, but it was too little, too late. The smaller asteroid struck the ship on the starboard nacelle. There was an explosion as the nacelle crumpled with the force of the crash. The enemy ship spun out of control and disappeared from view.

They weren't destroyed, but they weren't going anywhere for a while; assuming they got the ship back under control.

Shouts of excitement erupted from each of the crew members on the bridge of the Baxley. Telk leaped out of his seat and grabbed Maag-Toft's upper shoulders from behind. Then he planted a kiss right in the center of Maag-Toft's bald spot. One large elbow came flying back and caught Telk in the ribs. He fell to the ground, laughing but sore.

"Thank you, Maag-Toft. That will make things much easier. Telk, take the helm and set a course for Tagra IV, maximum warp. I will be in cargo pod one." John smiled at the crew and looked towards the back of the bridge. Akkori and Toft-Maag sat there with bewildered looks on their faces. It took only a second for Akkori to regain her radiant composure. "Toft-Maag, I need you to start any repairs that you think we can make en-route. Akkori, you're with me." He moved toward the hatch leading to the rest of the ship.

5


	6. Chapter 6 Eris

**The Vorta: A Star Trek Fan fiction**

**By Jason S Freeman**

Chapter Six – Eris

The world was bathed in a soft red light. Beyond a few feet, everything turned dark as a starless sky. A feint beeping sound could be heard from a great distance. The soft, warm embrace of liquid was slowly draining away and the harsh world of open air was replacing it. Lungs that had never been exposed to real air were forced to expand, pulling in the strange gasses of the atmosphere in this realm of darkness and sound.

The world shook. That wasn't right. Earth doesn't just move like that in the forest. The light was dim in the forest but not red. No sentinel trees reached their ancient arms across the sky to create the canopy that was the world. No birds chirped or insects creped. She couldn't smell the rich, natural smells of the soil and the plants. She couldn't smell anything beyond the sweat of her own.

She gasped and tried to suck in air like a drowning victim. Her lungs stung with the remnants of the fluid that had suspended her body. Shocks ran up her arms and legs, awakening muscles that had been stimulated before, but had never moved. She raised her arms and felt the warm glass that encased her.

Her mind suddenly unclouded as a neural stimulator awakened the memory and cognitive centers of her brain. She was not dead…she was being born. Her birthing chamber had been activated, but there were no attendants to open it or help her out. She was alone in the dark. She didn't know how She knew, but She knew this wasn't right.

The glass shell that was her prison shifted and opened freeing her. The cold air rushed in to envelop her and she realized for the first time that she was naked. Her wet skin rippled into goose flesh. She wrapped her arms around her chest and stepped out of the chamber. Her bare feet pressed against the diamond plating of the cold steel floor forcing her to gasp. The air was full of the acrid tang of the smoke from an electrical fire.

Where was She? Who was She? She couldn't find the answers. She searched her mind for anything that could tie her to this place. She knew She was on a starship. She could feel the strain of impulse engines and the pull of rapid course corrections that strained the inertial dampeners. She understood those systems and how they worked. Her technical knowledge was extensive, but she couldn't even find a name. How was this possible?

The floor shuddered again. Disrupter fire struck the ship on the ventral hull. Then suddenly light burst into the room, cutting the darkness and smoke. She stumbled forward, toward the light, her sensitive eyes robbed of the power to see for a moment. Strong arms reached forward out of the light and caught her, pulling her up and close to a warm body. Her hands instinctively rose to touch the face of her savior. Her fingertips brushed the stubbly face of a human man. Then his thoughts began to flood her mind. His bitter memories of the Dominion war came first. She reminded him of those terrible days of death and sacrifice. She was struck by the feelings of fierce independence and loyalty to those that left Starfleet with him after the war.

The death of his father came next. His father broke Federation law and they assumed he was a traitor too. Again he stood strong against the stares and suspicions, fighting the despair that tried to claim him. He set out to the boundaries of Federation space. Along with his crew, they make their living by salvage, shipping goods to far flung colonies, even smuggling when they get desperate enough. She could feel the need for freedom, the need to determine the course of their lives. She felt the unspoken love he harbored for Akkori and the shame that had been leveled on him by his father. It was that shame that held him back.

This strange connection was not simply one-way. While the Vorta felt his emotions and 'experienced' the story of his life, John felt her confusion. He sensed the emptiness within her. Just out of reach was a storehouse of knowledge programmed into her DNA, but it lacked the experience and memories to connect that knowledge into her conscious thought. She didn't know who she was or where she came from. She held onto him too afraid to let go. If she let go, she would loose the only physical connection she had ever known. John was reminded of a drowning person desperately trying to clutch at their rescuer.

There were flashes of a place long lost to her. She had vague impressions of the smell of vast forests, the sound of the winds rustling the leaves, the feel of the rough bark on her hands and feet. These were not true memories, but an instinct left over from the pre history of her race.

Suddenly her mind found a spark of knowledge in John's mind that fed her own. She saw the face of a Vorta. He knew that she was a Vorta, and that spark spread through the programming in her genes and awakened more of the genetic memory built into her. The process was unfinished in her. She knew now that she was an Eris clone, but she was never given the memory engrams of her previous clone. She had all of the skills and technical knowledge, but none of the personal experience.

She could see the atrocities that others of her kind had committed in John's memories. She felt the anger that burned in John toward the Domminion. The Founders had infiltrated the federation sowing mistrust and misinformation, leading to the invasion. The Founders brought death and destruction on a scale none could have dreamed possible. Their armies, the Jem'Haddar, were led by the Vorta. She understood that John may never forgive any of them for the pain they brought into his world.

She saw how the people of the alpha quadrant would view her. Then there was the strong feeling of loss that John felt when he thought of all of the friends and ships destroyed in the war. Once peaceful worlds now held entire generations of scars left behind from the battles and prison camps. The loss of life was terrible. She felt his despair and knew that there was no place for her among the people of the alpha quadrant.

She also knew that she could never go home. While other Vorta were programmed to serve and worship the founders, She would never bow to them. The Founders would expect her to commit suicide, require it in fact. Any other Eris would comply. She had just been born. She didn't want to die. She felt John's abhorrence of the act. His people would never accept suicide as an option.

She saw the servitude forced upon her kind by the Founders. Her genetic memory carried with it images of her homeworld the way it was before the founders. Each Vorta had images, but hers was a deeper knowledge. She felt the breeze on her face, smelled the earthy scent of the forest floor and the tangy scents of the other creatures in the forest. She knew her world had been changed, her species enslaved. The founders stripped away all that was pure and good about the Vorta and made them the administrators of slavery and death. This time the anger She felt was her own.

Her eyes stung with tears and the same questions came back to her. Who am I? Am I Eris? Am I a true Vorta? She knew then that she was not. She had to reject the name Eris.

As suddenly as the connection was gained, it ended. What seemed like a long period to John and his new Vorta companion was mere seconds to the rest. The Vorta fell to her knees and John fell back toward the wall.

3


	7. Chapter 7 More Trouble Than she's Worth

**The Vorta: A Star Trek Fan fiction**

**By Jason S Freeman**

Chapter Seven – More trouble than she's worth

"John!" Akkori ran to him not understanding the mental assault he had just experienced, she only knew that this stranger had touched him and they both collapsed on the deck. His eyes were unfocused and he drew short, rapid breaths. She removed the medical tricorder from her belt pouch and began to scan him. The device told her that he had suffered a brief disruption in his synaptic pattern, but he was rapidly returning to normal.

His hand rose to hers, "Please…scan her. We're going to need as much data as possible." She met his eyes and smiled softly. She wanted to argue that he was her priority, but she nodded and moved to scan the Vorta. He was still the Captain and as far as Akkori could tell, he was in no danger.

The small scanning cylinder in Akkori's right hand hummed and blinked as the internal sensor array sent signals back to the tricorder in her left hand. Little was known about the physiology of the Vorta, but as far as Akkori could tell, her patient seemed to be in incredible health. Then the scans of the Vorta's brain appeared on the screen. There was an abnormally low level of brain activity in the memory centers of her temporal lobe, but by the nanosecond new synaptic pathways were forming. It was as if a once dormant mind had somehow downloaded a large packet of information and was attempting to assimilate the information as Akkori watched. There were also parts of her brain that in other species had long been associated with telepathy and telekinetic abilities; becoming active and growing exponentially.

Akkori felt John's presence and realized he had regained his balance and was standing behind her left shoulder. It was a good sign that he was already recovered from his brief contact with the Vorta. It meant that whatever this stranger had done, it was unlikely to be an attack. Looking back at John, Akkori noticed him staring down at their unexpected visitor.

When Akkori returned her gaze to the naked Vorta, her cheeks reddened and burned with jealousy and embarrassment. She bit her bottom lip involuntarily. Although she had wanted to be closer to John for a long time, Akkori knew she had no real claim on him. John seemed hesitant, almost tentative in his actions towards her; something held him back and kept him from her. It was easy to deal with when she was the only female onboard, but this could be a challenge. This Vorta may be more trouble than she's worth.

Akkori's mind began to wander as she contemplated the possibilities. Akkori had to ground herself and stay in control if she wished to come out on top. She looked back toward the Vorta and was startled. The stranger's eyes were open!

When the Vorta spoke, she did so in perfect Federation basic and there was no hint of an accent, "Hello, Akkori. Might I borrow some clothes?

* * *

The impact of the asteroid had damaged the raider ship and prevented them from overtaking the Baxley. The damage wasn't severe, but it had been time consuming to make repairs. The Baxley had several hours on them and probably at warp 6. Non military ships had to obtain special permission to exceed warp 6 in federation space due to the damage high warp can do to subspace.

It wasn't a problem. The raider vessel could reach warp 8 for as much as 6 hours without damaging the warp core. As long as their stolen stealth system holds up, no one will even know they were in Federation space until it was too late.

The crewman at the sensors station moved quickly to stand behind and to the left of his captain's chair. Although no longer in the military, his manor was sharp and his respect absolute. The lighting on the bridge of the raider was subdued for the comfort of the crew's sensitive eyes. The small bridge held four primary command stations and the captain's central chair.

"Sir, I have the analysis of the sensor logs." He handed the strange angular PADD to the raider captain.

"Have you confirmed these readings or run a diagnostic on the sensor array?"

"Yes, Captain. The readings are accurate." He paused, waiting for his captain to soak in the readings on the PADD.

"Prepare a subspace pulse transmission. Send all of our data and our intentions to pursue to command. Helm, set an intercept course; best speed. Covar, run continuous scans for Federation patrols. We must find that ship, but we do not want to engage a Federation Starship if it can be avoided." A scowl crossed the captain's face as he contemplated the situation. If all went well, he could earn himself a reinstatement to the military, perhaps even a new ship. But if they were caught before they could complete their objective, they could all end up as federation prisoners.

"Course set in Captain, it should take us to the Tagra system" the helm officer reported.

"Very well, engage the stealth system and engage."

The raider ship moved out of the asteroid field and engaged their stolen Klingon cloaking device. The star field on the main viewer began to stretch out and streak into blurs of light as they passed into high warp.

* * *

Akkori had taken Eris to her quarters and then returned to John, leaving Eris (supplied with an unflattering one pieces jump suit typically reserved for maintenance duty and other dirty jobs) alone with her thoughts. She sat back on the bed and closed her eyes, returning to the memories she had shared with John. His past with Starfleet, his love for his father, even the death and disgrace of his father's name seemed vivid and real; as if they had all happened to her. She recognized the danger in taking another's memories as her own. Could she trust her own judgment when the only thing she had to base her decisions upon was his memories and the conflicting directives embedded in her DNA by the founders?

She felt that there was more there than just the skills she needed to function as an adult Vorta. It seemed that more information, if not true memories, was lurking in the hazy shadows of her newly awakened mind. She knew that she could trust John to help her and protect her if needed while she tried to figure out who she was. Was she more than just another Eris clone?

Her thoughts drifted and became dreams. She slept the true sleep of a sentient being for the first time. She dreamt of the shadowed forests of her distant homeworld; a world that no member of her species had seen in centuries. She dreamt of the ancient ones, the primates that had been her race before the founders came. They had been barely more than cave dwellers, living in thatched nests high in the trees to escape predators. A simple bartering system was the only economy. There was no need for armies or hunters. The primitive Vorta had not been a war-like race.

Simple tools and medicines were common among the many villages in the trees. They tended groves of fruit vines that reached above the canopy to soak in the sun. In all there was little to draw the attention of such a powerful race as the changelings accept one trait. The Vorta had begun to develop telekinetic and in some cases Telepathic power. It was weak, but prevalent in the species, developing at late adolescence; but only in the females of a certain blood line. It was unclear why this bloodline was special, but the Founders didn't care. It was a skill they could harness.

In the current species of the Vorta, only the Eris clones still posses the mental abilities that their ancestors had.

Even in her sleep, she could hear the crew gathered in the common room down the corridor discussing her fate. Though she was not conscious, she had no fear. She knew the emotions and principles of the captain; and she knew the kind of people he surrounded himself with. He would not just abandon her.

* * *

"I am not convinced that she poses no threat to us, John. Even if she was not given the memories of the Eris clone, she nearly killed you just by touching you. She absorbed your memories and has learned god knows what about us. Will she continue to try taking our memories as well?"

The crew sat around the table that took center stage in the common room; only Telk was not present. Someone had to fly the ship and he was the best pilot on board save John. Akkori sat in a worried and frustrated posture next to John, her usual sot. To her right was Toft-Maag, then Manfredi (no comma needed here) and Johnson. To John's left was Maag-Toft. Silver mugs filled with Raktagino sat in front of everyone. A plate of pastries and fruit sat at the center of the table.

The room itself was well lit. Bright colors of white and butter cream yellow adorned the bulkheads to help inspire alertness and positive moods. The starboard wall held all of the kitchen space needed to prepare meals by hand which was a luxury on most small vessels. A small replicator was embedded in the opposite wall to the side of a large view screen that currently displayed a pastoral scene with a stream, trees and a field of grass. Spring flowers lined the edge of the scene and added to the tranquil view meant to calm emotions and alleviate stress. Of course that never truly worked, but it was a nice thought.

"That was not how it happened, Akkori. She didn't attack me. It was completely involuntary. She was panicked and had no frame of reference for her mind to anchor itself with. Releasing her from the stasis chamber was like witnessing her birth. She had never been conscious before that moment. She may be a Vorta, but she has done no wrong. She doesn't even know the things her people have done." Well, she didn't, not until she had shared memories with me, John thought to himself. She saw them from my perspective while she was in my mind, John.

"John, are you sure she isn't trying to fool you with the visions she shared with you?" Maag-Toft was concerned, but not overtly afraid. He tended to take Johns word as fact, rarely second guessing him. It was a strong bond. John tried to calm himself. If Maag-toft needed reassurance than maybe he should try to be more understanding.

John tried to gage the feelings of his crew. Akkori was an easy read, she was not attempting to guard her emotions. Maag-Toft too had concern on his face. Manfredi and Johnson both seemed to be neutral, waiting to see who would argue the best point.

As was typical, Toft-Maag was quiet. He preferred to allow his more outspoken brother to ask the questions and he simply observed until his opinion was required. Nothing had ever shaken the unity of this crew as recent events had. It worried Toft-Maag less than the others because he knew that He and his twin were inseparable. Brecon Twins were never parted. They would spend their entire lives together, even raising families in an extended family group. It was difficult for non Brecons to understand at times, but biologically and by tradition; it was simply how things went. Where one Brecon went, his twin must follow.

John looked deeply into Akkori's eyes. A fire, deep inside began to glow as her stared at her. He was always surprised at how much he needed her. She was far more than a crew member to him. He needed her to understand him and support his decisions. "Akkori, I know you are only looking out for me and the rest of the crew. I need you to understand. What I experienced was not some elaborate hoax to lull me into a trap. This Vorta is no threat to us. Watch her if you must. Be wary of her if it helps you, but I'm asking you to trust me."

Her eyes softened. She relaxed her posture and took a deep breath. She had always trusted him; it was the Vorta she didn't trust. She nodded. "Alright, but you have to promise to be careful. I still think she's more trouble than she's worth. I certainly don't think she needs to be involved in our business at the scrap yard."

John smiled. He knew he could count on her. Her caution was warranted. "No, she has nothing to do with our business venture." She nodded her consent. John looked around the table.

The nod from Maag-Toft was all John needed to see. He knew that his friend had his back. He knew that Maag's brother would abide by his decision as well. Johnson looked bored, as if he had known all along what was going to be decided. Manfredi was staring at the view screen as if he had never heard the conversation. If either of them had a problem, they would have made it known.

"Alright then, first we get our repairs done. Then we begin to figure out what to do with our new passenger. When that is taken care of, we proceed to the scrap yard and payday. I believe there is also a certain Ferengi that we need to pay a visit to as well."

* * *

Telk slumped haphazardly in his chair at the helm with one leg draped over the chair's arm, and leaned his head back. He was quite bored since there is little to do while in warp but monitor the navigational sensors and make slight course corrections on the rare occasions when the sensors actually picked up any obstructions. He didn't bring reading materials to the helm anymore, not after that near miss with a rogue comet a few months ago. John told him he'd toss him out an airlock if it happened again. Of course Telk didn't think he would really do it, but just in case, he tried to stay alert.

In his mind, he went over the statistics of the last baseball game he had seen on DS9. He had memorized the game play-by-play and could relive the event at any time in his head. It was an advantage of having an eidetic memory, everything he had ever seen, read or heard he could remember with near perfect clarity. Yes, it was cheating a little, but John hadn't forbidden him to play baseball in his head while he was at the helm, besides it had been hours since anyone had come up from the crew quarters to relieve him or to even talk and alleviate the boredom.

He wondered what everyone was up to. Did the Vorta wake up? Had they found her anything to wear? He hoped that they hadn't. Damn John was lucky.

. It had been just over 9 hours and with a few fortuitous phenomenons in their flight path, Telk had gotten them to Tagra IV ahead of schedule. The warp engines had always performed great for being a rebuild thirty year old engine. Performances of the past not withstanding, they had their limits. Telk had had to use naturally occurring subspace eddies, and heavy gravity wells to push the little ship beyond the capacity of its engines. Any pilot worth their wings could skirt the edge of a gravity well to gain speed, but on this bucket Telk was the best. Not that it was a hard title to get.

An indicator light alerted Telk that a message was inbound from the automated traffic buoys in system. He absently opened the channel and authorized the navigation system to accept incoming data. His screen came to life with the latest astronomical data on the system and updated traffic procedures for docking at the station in orbit of Tagara IV.

Years ago, Tagra IV had been in the clutches of an ecological disaster. Somehow, the enterprise had gotten a member of the Q-Continuum to reverse the ecological changes, returning the planet to near a pristine condition. Now the Tagaran's had numerous facilities for visitors looking for relaxation and entertainment. If John was willing to give them a few hours, he was looking forward to trying out the waves on the beaches of Tagara's primary continent. The sun, the surf, the bikinis…

"Boss, this is the bridge, we've entered Tagaran space and I'm lining up a docking slip for us. The fees are reasonable; should I transfer account information or will we be paying in cash?"

"Pay with cash and whatever extra we will need to avoid any serious inspections. The least amount of attention we attract the better." John answered and Telk could hear the weariness in his voice.

"Will we be staying for shore leave?" Telk couldn't keep the hopeful tone out of his voice.

"We're only staying as long as it takes to get our repairs taken care of. I'll have Toft-Maag contact the station about the repairs. The last thing we need is to get caught with the weapons we have in our _lower_cargo hold to be found inside of Federation space. Instead of sun and fun, we would all spend the next twenty years in a Federation rehab camp, Dougherty out."

Telk gave the intercom console a frustrated look. "Yes sir, Captain Sir. Damn you need to get laid." Telk thought about the cargo hold that the Captain had mentioned. It was well hidden and shielded from all but the most intense scans. Unless someone came on board and physically searched the ship with a micro fissure scanner, they were safe enough. "Buzz-kill…"Telk said to himself. Maybe John wasn't so lucky after all.


	8. Chapter 8 The Raider (part 1)

Telk couldn't help but smile. He knew he was a genius, but his crewmates had no idea. In all the systems in the Federation, he had never expected to find this, and all it took was a little grid access and a brilliant mind like his to filter the data. The captain would probably not notice this particular example of Telk's miraculous work, but the other's might. The captain was just too busy in his own head right now.

Telk shook his head as he accessed the comms panel and entered the code for the private landing slip's business office. His smile grew as he watched the small hour glass icon spin in front of the of Southern Skies Space lines logo. Soon enough, the image cleared and was replaced by a familiar face. The pug look of the Tellarite in front of him snorted in derision.

"Telk, how are…wait, more importantly; why the hell are you calling me?" His question began in a sickly sweet tone and dropped to the mono tone Telk was more used to. All pretenses of the smile he normally would answer his comms with had been wiped away.

"Hello Kedar. It's good to see you too. Can't an old buddy from the service call up his team mates once in a while?"

"I have not forgotten our time on the Destiny, nor why we all left Starfleet. So, it depends. Have you quit following around John Dougherty like a lost Targ? I am sure that Akkori is still there, but what is your excuse? Are you in love with the Human as well?"

"And here I thought you would not be happy to see me you old scourge bat! Quit wasting my time and listen." Telk had never been as good as Kedar at the Tellarite 'Art of Arguing' as he likes to call it, but he had to try. Polite conversation was seen as dishonest and insulting to Tellarites. Telk would need to get the focus off of himself and onto the business at hand. "The Baxley is in Tagaran space and we need a quiet place to land. We are paying cash and need a few repairs. I would understand if you are unable to handle even that simple request, but business can't be that good in this backwater sector."

"Still flying that garbage scowl? How does Toft keep her in the air?" Kedar's smile showed that he believed he had scored the game winning insult. He very nearly bared his canines like a Klingon, though he would be offended by the comparison.

Telk ran his hand down his face. Genius or not, he was losing this contest and running out of time. That's when the idea hit him. His fingers began to race across his console, searching the local planetary net for the information he sought. Once the information was out there, it never went away; you just had to know where to look. Telk wasted most of his free time on the net, so this should be a snap. There, he thought to himself. Wow, Kedar. You really are trying to snowball me.

Telk decided to make his best play, "So when was the last time you were in contact with Romanov or Holland?" Kedar's smile fell. He knew he couldn't win by lying, so he chewed on the truth for a moment before answering.

Andew Holland had only entered his quarters a few moments ago. It had been a long shift, and he was tired. He gave his room a quick look to make sure nothing had been disturbed in his absence. It's not that he was paranoid, but you can never tell when someone was going to break in to your rooms and try to ambush you, especially when you work for a shell company that is a front for Starfleet Intelligence. There was no real Starfleet presence in the Tagra System and too many that were looking to skirt the law in this region.

His long time friend and ex-crewmate Rick had convinced him to leave his last posting on the USS Avalon and join him working for Southern Skies. His last post in Starfleet had been as the Strategic Operations officer. His work keeping track of fleet movements and correlating data from several databases was quite useful to the covert operation Southern Skies was running here. It was a difficult job, but it had its rewards.

Everything in place, he shook his head in wonder. Just a few years ago this place would have been a wreck. Now, he could pass inspection on any day of the week without warning. He walked over to his desk and adjusted the picture he had placed there. With a sigh, he stared down at the picture. It was nearly eight years old. It held an image of Andrew in civilian clothes, sitting near a campfire with his arm around a beautiful young blonde. The light spots that followed her hair line and flowed down her neck spoke of her half Trill heritage. The easy smile and poise were evident even in a simple holo image. Her name was Devon St. Michael, daughter of Rear Admiral David St. Michael.

Holland and Devon had served together on the USS Destiny. For several years, they flirted, dated and even hinted at a more permanent arrangement between them. Four years ago they met in Destiny's lounge for dinner. He had bought a ring on their last leave and intended to ask for her hand. It was that very night Devon had told him the exciting news that she was transferring to the senior flight control position on the USS Eielson. Andrw never told her that he was going to propose. The next day, Holland put in for a transfer and was accepted into Project Full Circle.

The weight of the last few years settled in his limbs and neck. He was exhausted. The bed seemed to call to Andrew, but he knew sleep would come slowly if at all. He moved to the chair behind the desk and logged in to the planetary network. An indicator light flashed, letting Andrew know there was a message for him. He toggled over to his inbox and saw that the message was from his old friend, Telk. He hadn't seen the skinny Bolian in years, not since Telk and several other crewmen from the Destiny had resigned their commissions. From what he remembered, Telk was the Opps manager and co-pilot on the Free Trader Baxley. Andrew wondered if he still traveled with Dougherty and the others. It wouldn't surprise him. He, Rick and Kedar had all managed to end up here in Tagra working for Southern Skies.

Holland smiled and opened the message, and found that it was encrypted. Shaking his head and wondering what had his friend so paranoid this time, then searched his desk for the case that held his data chips. Back in the Dominion War, Andrew and his friends had designed a specific algorithm used to encrypt and decipher private messages. Locating the chip that had this program on it, he placed it in the data reader and initiated the decryption sequence. The message came up quickly. "The Baxley just arrived in the Tagra System. We need a private dock with not too much in the way of customs. Kedar is being such a Tellarite. Please help."

Gee, is that all he wanted, a private dock that could bypass inspections? Hell, why didn't he just ask for the keys to the Governor's liquor cabinet while he was at it. Of course it wasn't a real problem. The Visigoth (Rick's ship) wasn't here and wouldn't be back for a couple of weeks. Southern Skies had found a way to keep the local inspectors at bay without blowing their cover so far. It wouldn't be hard to help out, but if they were up to criminal behavior, it could end up disastrous for him.

Andrew leaned forward and began to type a message to Telk. "You have access to landing pad four in the Southern Skies private port. Meet me in the bar called the Flux…bay 12. 1500 hours…they'll be open. This had better be important; someone's life better be in danger."


End file.
